Primacoustic: Isotools
reviewed by Dana Gumbiner
ck when they were first introduced, I was skeptical of the Primacoustic Recoil Stabilizers monitor pads (Tape Op #62) that have since become something of an industry standard. Having little or no...
Gear Reviews
by Dana Gumbiner
Novation: Launchpad Performance Controller
reviewed by Dana Gumbiner
The Launchpad has, well, landed and seems certain to become a ubiquitous tool for users of Ableton Live (Tape Op #72). It's a compact and lightweight USB MIDI interface organized around an 8x8 grid of...
Mojave Audio: MA-101fet condenser microphone
reviewed by Dana Gumbiner
Here’s a relatively new, pencil-style, solid-state condenser microphone with interchangeable cardioid and omnidirectional capsules from the folks at Mojave. Notably, the electronics were...
Ableton & Cycling '74: Max for Live
reviewed by Dana Gumbiner
Cycling '74 and Ableton have introduced a fascinating new version of the Max programming environment tailored specifically for instrument and effect creation within Live (Tape Op #72). Max/MSP and its...
TASCAM: DR-100 portable solid-state recorder
reviewed by Dana Gumbiner
TASCAM has a new entry into the increasingly crowded handheld recorder market -the DR-100. This new unit has a number of clear advantages over TASCAM's less expensive (and slightly less bulky) DR-07...
AKAI: APC40 Ableton Performance Controller
reviewed by Dana Gumbiner
Akai Professional and Ableton have co-developed a new comprehensive MIDI performance controller for use with Live versions 7 or 8 (Tape Op #72). The APC40 introduces a new breed of USB-MIDI devices...
Ableton: Live 8
reviewed by Dana Gumbiner
Less than twelve months from the last major upgrade to their sequencing, composition, and performance DAW (Tape Op #67), the folks at Ableton are at it again with Live 8. This latest version has a...
Ableton: Live 7
reviewed by Dana Gumbiner
Yet another timely upgrade to Ableton's unparalleled DAW sequencing software instrument, Live 7 offers up a great number of optimizations, enhancements, and new instruments. I can be a bit wary of...
Propellerhead: Abbey Road Keyboards ReFill
reviewed by Dana Gumbiner
I have to be honest with myself sometimes and assume that I will never own a Fairchild 660. Or a matched pair of vintage U 67s. My consoles will never sound like a TG 12345, nor will my room sound...
EASTWEST: Fab Four virtual instrument
reviewed by Dana Gumbiner
I have to be honest with myself sometimes and assume that I will never own a Fairchild 660. Or a matched pair of vintage U 67s. My consoles will never sound like a TG 12345, nor will my room sound...
Audio Damage: Liquid, Fluid, and Vapor plug-ins
reviewed by Dana Gumbiner
I first ran across the excellent Audio Damage plug-in line via analogindustries.com, the blog of Chris Randall (ex-Sister Machine Gun frontman). Chris is one-half of the company with Adam Schabtach,...
Image Line: Morphine soft synth
reviewed by Dana Gumbiner
Here's a flexible additive software synthesizer from Image Line, the developers who made the nearly-ubiquitous FL Studio app. Morphine is a standalone application, VSTi, or Audio Unit plug-in for...